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Mồi Nhậu: What to Eat With Beer in Da Nang
The mồi locals eat with cold beer in Da Nang — seafood, snails, grilled chicken, jackfruit salad and dried snacks — how to order it and where to go.
In Da Nang, drinking food is called mồi, a sprawling spread of shared plates that keeps the beer flowing for hours. You order a little of everything, put it in the middle of the table, and graze while you talk.
For the culture side of things, like the toasts, the ice in your beer, and how to join a table, read our guide to Da Nang's nhậu culture. This guide covers the food, including what to order and how to buy seafood by weight without getting stung.
By the Go Da Nang local team · Last updated June 2026
What is mồi?
Mồi (pronounced "moy") is the food you share while drinking. You never order one big plate for yourself. Instead, many small plates sit in the middle of the table for everyone to reach into. We cover the etiquette and toasts in our Da Nang nhậu culture guide. Here, we focus purely on the food.
Seafood (hải sản): The heart of a Da Nang nhậu
Da Nang is a fishing city. Naturally, seafood anchors most drinking tables. Many spots keep live tanks by the door. You point at what you want, and it goes straight to the grill or steamer. This food is built for slow sharing. A few plates land, you peel and dip, and more arrive over the next two or three hours. For the full lineup and where to eat it, see our Da Nang seafood guide.
Here are the dishes you will see most:
- Sò điệp mỡ hành (grilled scallops with scallion oil). Scallops grilled on the half shell, topped with hot scallion oil and crushed peanuts. Sweet, smoky, and rich. Start here for an easy crowd-pleaser.
- Hàu (oysters). Served grilled with cheese or scallion oil, or raw with lime and chili. Grilled is the safer first try.
- Tôm tít / bề bề (mantis shrimp). A long, ridged shellfish with sweet, firm meat. It tastes great but requires patience to peel.
- Nghêu (clams). Usually steamed with lemongrass and chili, or Thai herbs. Light, clean, and cheap. A great order for the whole table.
- Ghẹ rang me (tamarind crab). Small swimming crabs fried in a sweet-and-sour tamarind sauce. Messy, sticky, and very good. You eat it with your hands.
- Mực nướng (grilled squid). Whole squid grilled and cut into rings, eaten with a salt-pepper-lime dip or chili sauce. Mild and easy.
- Sò huyết (blood cockles). Small cockles with deep red, iron-rich juice. Locals like them cooked rare to stay juicy.
- Vẹm / hàu nướng mỡ hành (grilled mussels or oysters with scallion oil). Cheap, smoky, and topped with hot scallion oil and crushed peanuts. One of the most popular plates at any local spot.
- Cá đuối nướng (grilled stingray). Firm, mild white meat, grilled and eaten with fresh herbs and dipping sauce. Easy if you like white fish.
- Bạch tuộc (octopus). Grilled or stir-fried (xào). Chewy, savory, and soaks up chili and lemongrass well.
A note for foreigners: Most of this is easy if you like seafood. A few things are worth knowing. Some shellfish carries a light sea funk. Blood cockles (sò huyết) are often served rare. If that worries you, ask for them well-done (chín). Mantis shrimp is sweet but fiddly to peel. Skip this whole category if you have a shellfish allergy, as kitchens rarely promise no cross-contact.
Grilled scallops topped with scallion oil and crushed peanuts on the half shell.
One Da Nang seafood dish deserves its own mention. Gỏi cá Nam Ô is a cured raw-fish salad from a fishing village on the north edge of the city. It is the most adventurous seafood plate here. Read our gỏi cá Nam Ô guide to learn what it is, whether it is safe, and where to eat it.
How to order seafood by weight
Seafood in Da Nang is sold by weight. This is normal. The risk comes from not asking the price first. Make it simple and ask before anything is cooked:
- Ask the price first. Before it leaves the tank, ask the price per kilo (một ký) or per 100 grams (một lạng / một lượng). A price might sound cheap because it is per 100g instead of per kilo. Get a clear answer.
- Watch it weighed. Ask them to weigh it in front of you. Check that the scale starts at zero. Ask them to tip the water out of the basket first, as water and ice add fake weight.
- Confirm the cooking charge. Ask if there is a charge to grill, steam, or fry it. Check for add-ons like cheese, sauce, or lemongrass. These are usually small, but confirming prevents bill surprises.
- Take a photo. Photograph the price board and the scale reading. State the dish clearly, such as "ghẹ, một ký, rang me" (crab, one kilo, tamarind-fried). A fair vendor will not mind.
Rough price anchors as of 2026 (these move, so treat them as a guide):
- Tiger prawns (tôm sú): around 400,000–600,000đ/kg.
- Ghẹ (swimming crab): around 350,000–600,000đ/kg depending on size.
- Clams (nghêu): around 40,000–100,000đ/kg.
- Scallops (sò điệp): around 200,000–400,000đ/kg, often sold per piece.
Most of this shellfish is far cheaper than lobster or big prawns. Order clams, snails, scallops, and a crab to feed a table well without spending a lot.
Ốc & shellfish: The snail plates
An ốc spot (quán ốc) is built around snails and small shellfish, cooked to order in big pans and brought out plate by plate. It is a fun, low-cost way to eat in the city. Two dishes to know:
- Ốc hút (lemongrass-chili snails). Small spiral snails stir-fried with lemongrass, chili, and fish sauce. The name hút means "suck". You put the open end of the shell to your lips and suck the snail and spicy sauce straight out. It takes a try or two to get it.
- Ốc len xào dừa (snails in coconut). Bigger snails simmered in coconut milk with a little chili. Richer, milder, and creamy. A great order if you want to avoid heavy spice.
You order ốc by the plate. Most plates come with a small bowl of lime, salt, and chili to dip in. The texture is chewy and the heat can climb. Ask for it mild (không cay) if you are unsure.
A plate of ốc usually costs around 20,000–50,000đ. Order a few kinds. For the full story on ốc hút — how to slurp it and where locals go — see our ốc hút guide.
A plate of lemongrass-and-chili snails (ốc hút) with a lime-salt dipping bowl.
Best time to go. Ốc and most sidewalk snacks are an after-dark thing. Many spots open only in the evening and are busiest from about 7pm to 10pm. Show up then for the freshest cooking and the best atmosphere.
Gà: Grilled chicken and chicken feet
Da Nang has a whole genre of chân gà nướng (grilled chicken feet) spots. They are hugely popular with the younger after-work crowd. You will find a cluster of them around the An Thượng and student areas.
- Chân gà nướng muối ớt (grilled chicken feet, salt and chili). The local favorite. It is gnaw-and-suck eating with gelatinous skin and tiny bones. You eat it with your hands.
- Cánh gà nướng (grilled wings) and gà chiên mắm (fish-sauce fried chicken). Golden, savory, and very easy for newcomers.
- Gà đèo le. A Quảng Nam free-range hill chicken known for firm, flavorful meat. It is often boiled or grilled. Order it if you see it.
A note for foreigners: Wings and fried chicken are the easy entry point. Chicken feet are for the adventurous. It is all about the texture and the small bones. A plate of feet or wings is cheap, usually well under 100,000đ.
Grilled chicken feet with salt and chili, a popular Da Nang drinking snack.
Đồ nướng & đồ khô: Grilled skewers and dried snacks
This is the most foreigner-friendly category. There is no weighing and no fiddly shells. You just point and eat.
- Đồ nướng (grilled skewers). Charcoal-grilled skewers of pork, beef, chicken, squid, okra, or mushrooms, brushed with a sweet-savory marinade. You see exactly what you are getting before it hits the grill.
- Khô mực (dried squid). Dried squid grilled over a flame, then torn into strips. You dip it in chili-lime salt or tương ớt (chili sauce). Chewy, smoky, and a little sweet.
Both are sold per skewer or per plate, usually at a low price each. Order a mix of skewers for the table and one plate of khô mực to graze on.
A street vendor grilling bamboo skewers over charcoal at a Vietnamese street-food stall.
The dried Da Nang specialties. A few dried snacks are local signatures and double as the city's most famous take-home gifts. You can buy packs at Chợ Hàn, Chợ Cồn, or any đặc sản (local specialty) shop. They are chewy, sweet-salty, and built to last a long night.
- Mực một nắng (one-sun-dried squid). Squid sun-dried for just a single day, keeping it thick, chewy, and sweet. It is grilled, torn, and dipped in chili-lime salt or tương ớt.
- Cá chỉ vàng (dried golden threadfin). A thin dried fish, grilled and shredded. Sweet-salty and a classic with beer.
- Khô cá bò rim mè (dried filefish with sesame) and mực rim me (tamarind baby squid). Sweet-salty-sour, sticky, and chewy, sold in jars or packs — khô cá bò runs around 250,000–300,000đ/kg, and mực rim me around 90,000–150,000đ per 250g jar.
- Bò khô (dried beef). Chewy, peppery, and savory.
- Đậu phộng (peanuts). Boiled or roasted. The cheapest default snack, always on the table.
Gỏi & nộm: Salads that pair with beer
Sour-savory salads do a specific job at a drinking table. They cut the richness of the grilled food and go perfectly with beer. Order one to balance out a table full of seafood and skewers.
- Mít trộn (young jackfruit salad). A beloved Da Nang specialty. Boiled young jackfruit is shredded and tossed with pork skin and belly, shrimp, roasted peanuts, fried shallots, herbs, and fish sauce. It is scooped onto grilled rice crackers (bánh tráng). It is cheap (around 15,000–30,000đ), sweet-savory-sour, and very easy to like.
- Gỏi sứa (jellyfish salad). A central-coast specialty featuring crunchy jellyfish with the sourness of green mango and fresh herbs.
- Gỏi bò bóp thấu / gỏi gà. Tenderized, lightly-cured beef prepared by hand with lime and seasoning, or shredded chicken. Both are tossed with crunchy vegetables in a sour-sweet dressing.
A note for foreigners: Mít trộn and gỏi gà are easy and refreshing. Gỏi sứa has a springy texture. Gỏi bò bóp thấu uses lightly-cured beef, so order it knowing it is not fully cooked.
Mít trộn, Da Nang's young-jackfruit salad with peanuts and herbs, served with grilled rice crackers.
Mồi Quảng: Central-Vietnam snacks
Some snacks exist purely to pair with a drink. Central Vietnam is full of them. These plates make a Da Nang night out feel authentic:
- Tré. A lightly fermented pork snack, shredded and tossed with galangal and toasted rice. Faintly sour and crunchy. Read our tré Da Nang guide.
- Chả bò. A springy, peppery beef sausage, sliced thin and eaten with herbs and a salt-pepper-lime dip. See our chả bò guide.
- Nem chua. A small, firm, sour pink block of fermented ground pork, often topped with garlic and chili.
The big one to try is bê thui Cầu Mống, rare veal you wrap yourself. Thin slices of just-cooked, still-pink young beef come with rice paper, fresh herbs, sliced green banana, starfruit, and a bowl of mắm nêm (a pungent fermented-anchovy dip). You lay down a sheet of rice paper, add herbs and beef, roll it tight, and dip.
A note for foreigners: The beef is meant to be rare, and the mắm nêm is strong and salty. Both can surprise a first-timer. If rare beef worries you, ask for the slices a little more cooked. If the mắm nêm is too much, ask for sweet fish sauce (nước mắm chua ngọt) or plain soy sauce on the side.
A few acquired tastes
A few local favorites challenge newcomers. Trying one is a fun way to eat like a local.
- Trứng vịt lộn / hột vịt lộn (balut). A fertilized duck egg, eaten from the shell with Vietnamese coriander (rau răm), salt, lime, and pepper. Rich and confronting for first-timers.
- Lòng / nội tạng (organ meats). Pork offal and blood sausage (dồi), boiled or stir-fried. Go to a busy spot for the freshest version.
- Ếch chiên mắm (fish-sauce fried frog). Frog legs fried in fish sauce. Mild and chicken-like once you get past the idea.
What to drink with it
You will mostly drink local labels like Larue and Huda, both central-Vietnam beers, in bottles or cans. It comes poured over ice. That is the norm here, not a mistake.
The why-over-ice, the toasts, and how to join a table are covered in our Da Nang's nhậu culture guide.
Where to eat mồi in Da Nang
Here is where we take friends for each kind of food. Small places change their hours and addresses, so check Google Maps before you go and confirm prices at the table.
Hải Sản Bé Mặn (seafood)
A well-known seafood house on the beach road, MICHELIN Selected in 2024 and 2025. The food is good, but it gets busy and a bit touristy. Go early in the evening for the best pick from the tanks and a calmer table.
Hải Sản Bà Thôi (seafood)
A long-running central seafood spot where you choose your catch straight from the tanks. Handy if you are staying in Hải Châu and want to avoid driving to the coast. There is also a branch on Võ Văn Kiệt.
- Address: 96-98-100 Lê Đình Dương, Hải Châu, Da Nang (and a Võ Văn Kiệt branch)
Hải Sản Năm Đảnh (seafood)
A plastic-stool, local-style seafood spot down an alley near the Thọ Quang fish port. It is a MICHELIN Guide-listed place. It proves that affordable, no-frills seafood can earn real recognition. The prices stay friendly and the cooking is the draw.
Ốc Đêm Sài Gòn (ốc / snails)
An evening snail spot for working through plates of ốc hút with friends. If it is full, Ốc Kiều (34 Trần Thánh Tông, An Hải Bắc) is another solid option.
Mít Trộn Bà Già (mít trộn / snacks)
A long-running local spot that has been shredding jackfruit salad for over 30 years. It is a signless alley stall, so ask locals to point you in. Good for trying this Da Nang specialty done the old way, with a beer on the side.
Bê Thui Dũng Cây Bàng (bê thui)
A go-to for rare veal with rice paper, herbs, and mắm nêm. Order it for the table and take your time building rolls.
Bia Tô Lão Đại (beer hall / bia tô)
A beer-hall spot known for bia tô, where beer is served by the bowl rather than the glass. A fun, loud place to drink with a crowd and order shared plates.
Order a little of everything, put it in the middle, and let the night run long. Start with grilled skewers and clams if you are new to it. Add snails and a crab when you are warmed up. Try the tré and bê thui to eat like a local. For the wider lineup of dishes, see our honest Da Nang food guide.
Image credits
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